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Orlando Mini Maker Faire Not So Mini Anymore

Event Expands to Two Days & Attains “Featured” Maker Faire Status

Maker Faire Orlando at Orlando Science Center

September 13 – 14, 2014

ORLANDO, Fla. (June 18, 2014) — After two years being designated as a Mini Maker Faire, Orlando’s premiere event for DIY enthusiasts has received “featured” status and will now be known as “Maker Faire Orlando.” It joins the growing list of cities including Paris, Tokyo and Atlanta that host a “featured” Maker Faire. As such, the event will expand to two days, Sept. 13–14, 2014, and receive promotional support from Maker Media — the group that produces the annual flagship Maker Faires in San Francisco and New York City. Maker Faire Orlando is an ongoing collaboration between The Maker Effect Foundation and Orlando Science Center as well as members of the local maker community, most notably FamiLAB.

This announcement comes on the National Day of Making as proclaimed by President Obama, and the same day as the first-ever White House Maker Faire.

"Orlando is one of the fastest growing hubs for collaboration and innovation. I'd like to thank Orlando Science Center for bringing a Maker Faire to our community which will further our mission in creating the jobs of the future and promoting entrepreneurship in Orlando," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. "It also recognizes the importance of STEM education for our students while supporting the growth of technology in our local economy."

Maker Faire is an award-winning, family-friendly event celebrating technology, education, science, arts, crafts, engineering, food, sustainability and more. Maker Faire has become part of pop-culture and a place for experiential marketing, debuting new technologies and inventions, and celebrating geekdom. Maker Media produces two annual flagship Maker Faires, partners with museums to produce Featured Maker Faires and works with communities to license Mini Maker Faires around the world.

The individuals behind these exhibits are known as “makers” and they range from tech-enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and come from many backgrounds. Science credentials are not required but a love for innovation and a creative spirit certainly helps. Maker Faire Orlando will feature displays and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft. It’s a place where people can show what they are making and share what they are learning.

“We tend to be defined sometimes today just as consumers, but I believe all of us are makers and all of us like to view ourselves as creative and productive,” said Dale Dougherty, President and CEO of Maker Media and grandfather to Maker Faires worldwide. “The Maker Faire is an invitation to anyone who sees themselves as a maker.”

The inaugural Orlando Mini Maker Faire in May 2012 was held at the Orange County Fairgrounds with last year being the first time Orlando Science Center hosted the event. Each of the past two years Orlando Mini Maker Faire featured more than 100 exhibits from local makers and groups, and attracted more than 2,500 guests. Maker Faire Orlando expects to showcase more than 150 makers and draw more than 5,000 guests this September.

“We are thrilled about the growth of our Maker Faire and its ascension to ‘featured’ status,” said JoAnn Newman, President & CEO of Orlando Science Center. “This event represents everything we do best which is engage the community about science in a hands-on, passionate and innovative way.”

If interested in exhibiting as a maker, sponsor or community partner, email
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or visit www.makerfaireorlando.com.

MAKER FAIRE ORLANDO PARTNERS

ABOUT ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER

Located in Orlando, Fla., interactive learning and discovery await within the Science Center’s hundreds of exhibits, programs, labs, films and planetarium shows. The Science Center provides educational opportunities both within and outside its walls including field trips, family science nights at schools and community centers, and other outreach.

Orlando Science Center's mission is to inspire science learning for life. The Science Center strives to create lasting impacts on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and develop the next generation of creative innovators. Fully accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Science Center ranks as one of the most popular museum destinations in the region. Having served more than 11 million people since its inception in 1955 and more than 200,000 youth in the past year alone, the Science Center offers rich resources for lifelong learning.

For high-resolution photos, logos and more, please visit the following Dropbox link: www.osc.org/mediakit.

ABOUT MAKER FAIRE

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth — a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people of all ages and backgrounds gather together to show what they are making and share what they are learning.

Maker Faire celebrated 100 Faires in 2013 alone and has reached over 1.5 million attendees globally since it launched in San Mateo, California, in 2006, less than a year after the publication of its "parent," Make: magazine, which launched in 2005. The ninth annual Maker Faire Bay Area welcomed some 1100 makers and 130,000 attendees. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in four years to 600+ makers and 75,000 attendees. Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Silver Spring, Rome, Oslo, Newcastle (UK), Tokyo, Shenzhen and now Orlando host our “featured” Maker Faires (200+ makers), and community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires inspire and ignite creative communities everywhere around the United States and internationally.

Located in Sebastopol and Berkeley, California, Maker Media has been widely credited with jumpstarting the worldwide Maker Movement, which has been a transforming force in innovation, culture, and education. In addition to publishing MAKE Magazine and producing Maker Faire, Maker Media develops "getting started" kits and books it sells through its Maker Shed store as well as other retail channels.

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION (REGISTRATION NO. CH2342), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.